Clothes stick



Oct. 15, 1929. I T. E. FOSTER 1,731,654

' CLOTHES STICK Filed Sept. 14, 1927 glwmmtow Thomas Ewell/ 552?!" Patented Get. 15, 1929 UNITED STATES THOMAS EWELL FOSTER, OF'is EiiTTLE, WASHINGTON oLormis-sn'rrox Application filed September 114,1927. Serial No. 2 19,4 1 4.

My invention relates to an improvement in clothes sticks, and it is intended for the use of housewives, to enable them to grasp clothes immersed in hot water, to lift the 5 clothes therefrom and into a basket, or to a wringer, and to release them, all without the necessity of touching the hot clothes.

The object of my invention is to produce an efiicient clothes stick of simple and cheap construction, and one which has novel means for quickly engaging the clothes and releasing them.

Further objects, especially such as relate beniade of wood, it will'ordina rily be found to the mechanical structure of the device, will be disclosed by study of the following specification.

The accompanying drawings illustrate the preferred form of my invention.

Figure 1 is a side view of the clothes stick,

showing it engaging a cloth (shown in dotted lines).

Figure 2 is a similar View of the clothes stick, showing the cloth (shown in dotted lines) disengaged.

Figure 8 is an axial section of the structure shown in Figure 1.

Figure 4- is a detailed side View of the clothesengaging member.

Figure 5 is an end view of the clothes-engaging member as viewed from the left of Figure 4.

In carrying out my invention, I provide a suitable handle, which may be made of any desired size and material. In my preferred form the handle consists of a wooden tube 1.

This handle supports a member 2 which en-. gages the clothes C to lift them. I have found that a pair of oppositely directed fingers, as 22, when rotated, will sufliciently en- 40 a e the clothes and these fin 'ers with their E b 7 C 7 base 21, are received in one end of the handle 1. These fingers are so formed that they will readily release the clothes by their axial withdrawal, especially when assisted by engagement of the clothes by the end of the" handle during such withdrawal, hence the fingers 22, in addition to being rotative, are

also reciprocable to withdrawthem into the end of the handle 1, or to project them therefrom into operative position.

'offthe memberate-d shaft 4 and crank arm 43.

"Suitable means, distant from this end of theclothes stick, are provided for operating the clothes-engaging member 2, and as shown herein, thesecomprisea shaft 1 extending 7 throughthe axial boreof the handle 1, secured by oneend in the base 21, and having a crank arm andhandle '43 formed on its opposite end. In case the bore of the handle is greater than the dia'ineter of the shaft 4, a journal, 11 is pmv'idedm support saidsha'ft'i thehandle.

This journal may be secured in place-by such ineans as the setscrew'v 12.

Inasmuch as the handle wouldordina'rily cinnamo of the cylindrical base 21, the peripheries'ofthe fingers being continuous with thatfo'fthe base. A stop, such as theset screw 32, projecting 'with'inothe bore of the ferru1e,'lif1'nits retractiono'f themember 2, so

thatfwhen 'fu'lly retractedits fingers are just 'witlii'nthe tipo f thefe rlule 3. o

It will be noted that the shaft 4 is sufiifcie'htlyflong to ermit projection of the fingers 22 into positionfto engage the clothes properly, but when 'so'pro-j ected the engageihent of thecrank"ari'n43 with the end of the handle acts as a stop to prevent further proj 'ectfion, without, however, impeding rotation !].f: Thisrotatlomas shown ln Figure 1, engages and twists the clothes onto the fingers 22 sufiieiently to enable them'to be lifted from the boiler or washil' g nachine.

I In removing the clothes from the clothese'ngaging "fingers 22, the fingers are withdrfiawnfin'to the ferrule'3, through the associ- V Duringthe operation the clothes Gare "engaged by the en'd 3'1of' the ferruleand are pushed off the retracting fingers.

What I claim asmyinvention is: 1. In a clothes stick, in combination, a

handle axially 'bored, a cylindrical clothes engaging member of'a} diameter correspondingtothat-ofthe monthofthe 'bore, and movable into and projectible from and rotatable in one end of said handle, a shaft journaled in said recessed handle and connected to said clothes-engaging member at one end thereof, a crank arm formed on the other end of said shaft to reciprocate said clothesengaging member to project it to engage the clothes, and to rotate it, and to retract said clothes-engaging member to release them.

2. In a clothes stick, in combination, a handle, a ferrule secured to one end of said handle, a cylindrical clothes-engaging member of a diameter corresponding to that of the mouth of said ferrule, and movable into and projectible from and rotatable in said ferrule, and means for projecting and rotating said clothes-engaging member to engage the clothes, and for retracting said member to release them.

3. In a clothes stick, in combination, a

handle recessed at one end, a clothes engaging member comprising a cylindrical base of a diameter substantially the same as that of the mouth of said recess, a pair of spaced and oppositely faced fingers formed thereon and lying in a continuation of the cylindrical periphery of said base, said clothes-engaging member being movable into and projectible from and rotatable in said recess, and means for projecting and rotating said clothes engaging member to engage the clothes and for retracting said member to release them.

4. In a clothes stick, in combination, a handle having a circular-mouthed recess at I one end, a clothes-engaging member retractable Within and projectible from said recess, said member and the mouth of the recess be ing so formed and disposed to be in contact While the member is being retracted, and means for projecting and rotating said member to engage the clothes, and for retracting it to release them, said means for rotating including a shaft projecting from the opposite end of the handle, and a crank arm on its projecting end, and engageable with the.

end of the handle to limit projection of the clothes-engaging member.

5. In a clothes stick, in combination, a.

cylinder having a pair of fingers formed on an end thereof and lying in the periphery of the cylinder, a ferrule of internal diameter corresponding to that of said cylinder, and means for retracting said cylinder axially within and projecting it from the ferrule.

6. In a clothes stick, in combination,

plurality of fingers disposed in the periphery of a cylinder, a ferrule having a mouth of diameter corresponding to the diameter of the cylinder, and means for projecting said fingers from the ferrule, and for retracting them axially past its mouth.

Signed at Seattle, King County, Washington, United States of America, this 7th day of September, 1927. V V

THOMAS EW VELL FOSTER. 

